(FREDERICTON, NB) A goal on a penalty kick in the 90th minute gave the U SPORTS No. 1 ranked Cape Breton Capers a 4-3 win over the No. 8 UNB Reds, on Friday night.
Charlie Waters (Lancashire, UK) hammered the PK past Reds keeper Evan Barker (Winnipeg, MB) to break a 3-3 tie.
The goal on the PK was Waters' third of the night.
"It was a tough battle. They always give us a game, so we're happy to come away with the three points," said Waters, named Subway Player of the Game. "We always know we're in for a battle when we're coming here."
Waters scored in the 5th minute, on a high, hard shot to give the Capers an early 1-0 lead, a lead that would stand until early in the second half.
He doubled Cape Breton's lead in the 46th minute, before Alex Dodgshon (Liverpool, UK) got UNB on the board in the 48th.
Cory Bent (Preston, UK) pushed the Capers lead back to two when he beat Barker in the 50th minute.
The Capers scored an own goal in the 59th minute, off a UNB corner kick, and Ben Gorringe (Mount Uniacke, NS) tied the score 3-3 in the 75th minute, tapping a ball past Capers keeper Ben Jackson (Bury, UK) in dramatic fashion, with his heel.
"They were putting loads of pressure on us. They knew what they had to do, 3-1 down, and they put everyone forward and did the right thing, to be fair, put us on our back foot, so credit to them," said Waters of UNB's push to tie the game.
Waters completed his hat-trick by converting the penalty.
"It's gut-wrenching, for sure," said Gorringe, the Reds captain. "We battled back, battled the whole game, and from two goals down. To have that last-minute call, the ref made a decision. I'm not saying it was right or wrong, but that hurts for sure."
The Capers, now 10-0-1, finish their regular season schedule in Moncton, on Saturday. Game time is 3:00pm.
The Reds, who finish the season with a 7-3-2 record, now await the final seedings for the Subway AUS Championships, which begin Thursday, at Cape Breton University.
Gorringe believes, despite the loss, Friday's game was good for the Reds.
"They're the best in the country for a reason, so it was a tough game, but that's what I wanted these boys to go through before AUS, seeing that battle that they had was something that we need for the playoffs."
RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics
PHOTOS BY: James West/for UNB Athletics